I was a girl who loved to play Game Cube and ball. I wasn’t good at it, but I liked it. When I went to my cousins house, I spent most of the day with Stephi doing girly stuff. But time to time, I went to Bryan’s room and do some “boy stuff” too. He always treated me well, he never said that I couldn’t play with him because I am a girl.

Then, during middle school my guy friends played baseball without a bat. You had to hit the ball with your hands, and run like the wind to touch the bases. Truth to be told, I wanted to play because my then crush was playing, and I wanted him to see me as more than a “girl”. You know, the girl definition that means that we are indefendless, weak, not good enough to do certain task. I was friends with this boy, but I needed him to see that I can play sports too.

So I did, I was third base on that game. I stood there, waiting for the ball to go near me so I can catch it, without any luck. No, not because I was afraid and protected my face everytime that the ball came near me, but because my team decided to put a boy behind me so he can catch the ball. They didn’t believe I was good, they didn’t gave me a chance to prove that I could. “The thing is, you are a girl. We can’t lose because of a girl,” said my crush.

I was angry, I actually didn’t talk to him for a while. They thought I was going to “run like a girl”, and “throw like a girl”. My self confidence went down, and I did feel weak. I was a 12, maybe a 13 year old back then, trying to figure out things. How my body works and who I am and dealing with others things, just to add “Like a Girl” to my list.

Always created this campain to stop that feeling, to show girls that Like A Girl can mean incredible things as well. I run like a girl, dance like a girl, kick as a girl. And that is a good thing. Let’s show girls –and women- around the world that being a girl is not equal of being weak. We are strong, we can do anything we want, without a degrading phrase to bring us down. Let’s make #LikeAGirl a good thing!

My family and I used to go to the movies a lot. We still do that now and then. I remember when I was 10 and we went to see Fantastic Four. The movie was really good, but the thing that made an impact on my mom was the scar on Victor’s face.

I used to go to a summer art and craft day camp. Some people were mean (obviously, kids are evil) and I took some of those mean words really seriously. On the car ride home, I told my mom “she said my jar was ugly” and she responded “remember the scar”.

And what is the scar obsession I mention before? One day after feeling really sad about a comment someone said, she told me “Ew Orly, you have a hideous scar in your cheek”. I was shocked, she was lying to me. And I told her that, I asked her why she was lying. My face was perfectly fine, and she told me it had a scar! She finally told me that people will make up stuff to bring you down. So what if this girl doesn’t like how I painted my jar, or if I didn’t use enough glitter. There will always be someone around who will make up a scar to make you feel inferior, and it’s up to you to believe in that or not.

You are strong, you are independent. You are a powerful girl whose only obstacle is how you react. Ignore them, and always remember the scar, the thing that supposedly has to bring you down, but it really won’t.

“You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there’s still going to be somebody who hates peaches.”
Ditta Von Tesse

I used to see myself in the mirror and not like it as much as I should. I use to have a my-hairline-is-so-weird- my- pores-are-huge moment every time I faced a mirror. As LiLo said, it was just not skinny and fat, there were thousands of other problems with my body. From feeling fat to hating the fact i was brunette, my body was imperfect.

I believed I was chubby and that my hair was so curly that it was hideous. I believed that my hips were huge, same as my thighs. The thigh gap trend wasn’t a thing back then, but I was self-conscious about that. And my brows, I had a problem with them. They are big, Brooke Shields/ Lilly Collins big. People told me all the time “you need a wax”, “chopped them down”. That felt horrible. I’ve been taking care of them since I was 12 years old, trimming and waxing but not shrinking them.

Fat, ugly, not perfect. I used to hear those words in my head. Big brows, braces. Thousands of other words ran and ran in my mind. The mirror was not my friend, it was my nemesis.

One day I decided to change those words. I decided to say out loud the things I actually like. I always loved my boobs, to be honest, and my eyes are gorgeous. I also start telling myself good things about my personality. Soon, my self-consciousness went away.

I have to admit that Seventeen Magazine helped a lot. The Body Peace section made me realize my body is in fact beautiful. I also remember reading a Lilly Collins interview. Her eyebrows made her unique, same as mine. Same as many other things in my body. It was not perfect, it still isnt. But it’s mine, and I love it.

I never was the straight As kind of girl. Not because I wasn’t capable of achieving it, but because I didn’t try harder. I had a good GPA though, and many extracurricular activities that required more than my beautiful smile.

Since I can remember, people tell me I’m smart, and I believed it. It feels good when people acknowledge that. And that acknowledge is what brings me down sometimes. Yeah, that sounds weird, how can it feels good and then bring me down?

The answer: people tell me that being journalism is not enough for me. I should be a psychologist, an engineer, something that –and I’m quoting- “shows how smart you really are”, and “won’t waste your intelligence”

That is BS. That’s letting people thoughts change your believes. I believe I can be a kickass journalist, and no matter what people say, I’ll be a heck of one.

When people used to ask me what I want to do I was afraid. Everyone wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer, and I just wanted Miranda Priestly’s job. But I was ashamed; working for a magazine was shameful to me back then. I wanted people to say “ohh wow” in a good way.

People start asking me more and more what I like, often judging my decision. And you know what? Screw them. I should not be ashamed to do what I like to do, and those people think that journalism is just about writing. Every career requires intelligence, no matter what you do. If you are happy, then do it with a smile, and do not care what people think. You’ll ace whatever job you do if you enjoy it. I rather do something I love than something I hate. We all do, right?

I used to be ashamed of my dream. Now I’m not just joyful, I am proud of it. I learned that I should not be ashamed of my dream, neither of sharing it with people.

That little boy raised his voice and told his classmates “It’s time for a change! We should require Animal Crackers to be part of our lunch menu”. Every kid in kindergarten clapped. This boy is a leader, he’ll probably be a CEO, or a senator or the President of United States.

Now imagine the situation if it was a little girl. No one will clap. Instead, they will call her “bossy” or “pushy”. She then shuts up, she doesn’t speak her mind, even if her idea is brilliant. She has the qualities to lead, but those words made her insecure. She now believes that she isn’t good enough, or even if she is, no one cares.

When we grow up, we woman are called b**ch for speaking our minds. We are bossy and pushy. I believe that that’s wrong! We all have potential to lead, no matter what our gender is. A woman can make an amazing leader, just as a man can.

Superheroes and male leaders are all around us. We grew up watching Superman save Louis or male presidents. Even video games; you find more male characters than female. And why is that? Maybe people aren’t ready to see a woman lead, and that should change.

The Girls Scouts want to Ban Bossy, and we should spread the word. #BanBossy. And show the world that women can lead too.

If you could have dinner with any person in this world, dead or alive, real or fantasy, who would it be and why? I would choose someone who I believe needs my help, someone who I believe would have wanted to read this. I want to have dinner with 16-year-old Orly, and tell her this:1) The world won’t end tomorrow. You are sixteen! Your whole life is ahead.
2) An F on an exam doesn’t mean that you have fail in life. Many F’s through your school life doesn’t mean that either. Just keep working hard.
3) Your best friend today won’t talk to you tomorrow. People change, so do relationships.
4) Don’t rush it! You will have plenty time to drink and party.
5) People will talk anyways, so might as well give them something to talk about. (You will work on this for a long long time. Better start now)
6) If you feel someone is treating you badly, tell them. Say what’s on your mind in a nice way. Really, being nice doesn’t mean people can treat you poorly.
7) Don’t let for tomorrow what you can do today. Seriously, we all procrastinate, but there is a limit!
8) Don’t judge! We all have our past, the important thing is our future.
9) Pimples happen, as well as bad hair days. That won’t ruin your life, so cheer up!
10) Read books, write stories, take pictures, create memories.
11) The sweet boy you like is going to turn up into a big jackass. Don’t worry, is not your fault, is his.
12) Don’t give up dancing, you’ll miss it. Seriously, you will find yourself dancing during random moments.
13) Dress to impress- yourself! Be comfortable in whatever you wear

16-year-old Orly, they are other things that you should know. But life is about making mistakes and learning. Fall and stand up. Fall again and do the impossible to try until you conquer. You’ll make it!

When I was six years old I went to this beach club with my uncles and my cousins. My cousin Stephi was an eight-year-old back then, and I wanted to be “a grown up” like her so badly that I imitated her in almost everything she did. When we arrived at our three day vacation destination we ran up to the new stand; I wanted some chocolate and Stephi wanted something to read. She bought a magazine called “TU” (you in Spanish), and just to play grown-up, I ask for one too. I followed my uncles to our beach spot, and sat there with my magazine in hand. Words like “sex”, “clubbing”, “miniskirts” appeared written in the pages. Words unknown to me, words that were taboo for so long. I didn’t understand most of those words until I turned 11-12 and receive and awful amount of information about my body and *cough cough* men’s private parts. But before hitting puberty, I kept reading TU Magazine. Truth to be told, it was a poorly written and edited magazine. Pictures didn’t belong to certain articles, and some overlapped the words printed in the page. Sometimes words were missing and some pages were upside down. It was a mess. But I bought it for anyways. I spent afternoons pretending I was the chief of the magazine (at that age, the term “Editor in Chief” was unknown to me). I corrected some grammar and spelling mistakes. I saw the models in the fashion section, and choose the ones that were good enough for the next issue. I circled the pictures that belong to other articles and wrote the words that were missing. It was my own game, and I loved it.

Correcting that magazine wasn’t the only thing I loved to do as a child. Of course playing with Barbie’s and running around the yard were part of my childhood, along with other activities. I also enjoyed writing in a Word Document short stories. Back then I found my dream career, even if I didn’t realize it.

I was a kid with an ambition: work in a magazine someday. When I grew up I added little things to my dream job. Not only do I want to work for a magazine, but one that is located in the Hearst Tower. Rebecca Bloomwood walked through those doors aiming to get her dream job, and so will I. I will make that 6-year-old girl dream come true. I’ll be an Editor in Chief, a great one.